JoJo's frocktail birthday bonanza

So I am well aware that I've totally neglected the blog. I have written hundreds of super interesting posts in my head but somehow none of them made their way here... Life has a way of getting away from us! However, I'll do my best to catch up somewhat.

Yesterday was Jo's birthday and our apartment is now semi forested in gorgeous birthday cards. The princess treatment will continue on and off for at least a week yet! On Saturday we had a 'frocktail party' to celebrate the birthday with our wonderfully eclectic Texas friends.


It was rather a last minute affair, which was probably good because it meant I couldn't get too stressed about the planning! It seems many of the Americans were confused by both the terms 'frock up' (the boys were worried they were required to wear dresses) and 'swan about', but once the expectations were thoroughly explained all was well.

John and Jo kindly agreed to let us use their fabulous house for the event, which also became the christening of the outdoor area for the new year, however that did mean that we spent Saturday afternoon outside wiping down the outdoor furniture, restringing lights etc (which is why I have a picture of the birthday girl up a tree!)


Anyhow, long story short, the outdoor area looked amazing. I swear that house is nicer than a freaking hotel (decent pics coming soon...I got distracted). I wanted to plan the whole thing so that:

a) Josie didn't have to stress about anything (she hates planning but loves dressing up)
b) we could afford it and
c) people would be able to have a good time chatting and swanning about without being encumbered by environmentally unfriendly plates and plastic cutlery...

so with those simple guidelines in hand I embarked on one of my biggest planning adventures yet!

I'm not going to go into huge detail over the food (shock horror I know!) but basically I wanted people to be able to eat with one hand without too much mess. I also knew there'd be one vegan and at least two vegos there. So here's what turned out to be the final menu:

Cold:
Spicy white bean hummus
French onion dip
Artichoke and lemon dip

Crudités, bread and mixed olives

Insalata caprese sticks (with balsamic reduction dipping sauce)

Pork, cilantro, snow pea and mango sticks (with sweet chili soy dipping sauce)

Sugar pea, ginger and shitake sticks (with sweet chili soy dipping sauce)

Prosciutto and melon sticks

Mushroom pate and melba toasts

Wasabi peas and chili rice crackers

Hot:
Spicy glazed chicken wings

Aussie sausage rolls

Herbed mixed mushrooms and garlic

Grilled lap chong with Szechwan mayonnaise

Sweet:
Red velvet and black forest birthday cake duo

Katy's handmade liquor truffles

The biggest travesty of the night was that I was too distracted to photograph anything much, especially the food (which actually looked really good) or our frocked up friends, so now I have to do some serious begging to see if I can scam photographic evidence of the event from other people! I did catch one pic of the caprese sticks just before the last of them disappeared!


Similarly, I wanted to keep the drinks relatively simple ingredients wise, as well as not ridiculously alcoholic! Not to mention easy to make since Matt and I were going to tag team the bar. In then end Matt turned out to be a born bartender and I didn't get a look in! Thanks to the Meadies for their simply divine recipes for Bongos and Sangria, both of which went down a treat with the punters! We also managed to take advantage of the fact that our mint plant has been in overdrive for the last few months leaving us with a bountiful harvest just in time for mojitos! The following drinks list was laminated and taped to the bar...obsessive much?


Needless to say the party was brilliant fun, everyone dressed up and looked amazing! The temperature outside was perfect and only started dropping out after midnight.

Josie and the gorgeous Vikings!

Hopefully I can post some more pics if I can track them down. I also have a bunch of other stuff to post about if I can get my butt in gear! Whip, crack, away!